The objective of the current study was investigating the relation between socio-economic, environmental and biological factors and hypertension according to gender, taking into consideration peculiar forms of work, leisure and life-style. The target population consisted of 677 adults of impoverished social segments of two cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, 274 (39.8%) men and 415 (60.2%) women. The study was conducted by applying a hierarchical logistic regression model to men and women separately. The adjusted Odds Ratio (ORaj), with a confidence interval of 95% and a = 0.05, were calculated. The risk of hypertension in men increases as a result of: living in a rural area (ORaj= 2.00; p= 0.01), alcohol use (ORaj= 1.90; p=0.03) and being over 40 years of age (ORaj=2.35; p=0.003). On the other hand, large families, i.e. families with more than six members, exercise a protective effect (ORaj= 0.45; p=0.02). Risk factors associated with hypertension in women were: lack of schooling (ORaj= 2.37; p=0,003); sedentary lifestyle (ORaj=1.71; p=0.04); obesity associated with low stature (ORaj=3.23; p=0,001) and age over 40 years (ORaj=5.29; 0.0001). Obesity alone was not associated with hypertension (stage II or greater) in this population.